Rockford man struggles to move on after year in jail for crime he didn't commit

Saturday

Dec 7, 2013 at 8:00 AM

ROCKFORD — Littrail Blair is struggling to get his life on track nearly a year after he was found not guilty of charges he shot a man in the street outside the Day Avenue home he shared with his mother.

By Jeff KolkeyRockford Register Star

Editor's Note: This story was edited to correct the number of jury trials that result in a guilty verdict. About 66 percent of felony jury trials resulted in a guilty verdict in 2010-12, a Register Star analysis of Winnebago County Circuit Clerk records shows. That represents guilty verdicts on 89 of 135 trials.

ROCKFORD — Littrail Blair is struggling to get his life on track nearly a year after he was found not guilty of charges he shot a man in the street outside the Day Avenue home he shared with his mother.

Blair had before his August 2010 arrest prided himself as a hard worker.

He consistently held jobs at a warehouse, in a factory and in retail. But after nearly a year of being locked up, Blair said, he has been unable to find full-time work following his Jan. 24, 2012, acquittal by Judge John Truitt on all charges.

Blair and his mother, Shernette, remain angry over how he was treated by the criminal justice system. He still takes care of his three kids, but is more isolated and stays home whenever possible. He is now unwilling to drive more than a few minutes from home for fear he'll be stopped by police.

"The sad thing about it is when they arrested him, they didn't even ask him where he was at, if he had any witnesses who saw him," Shernette said. "They just arrested and convicted him if you ask me."

There is no compensation for someone acquitted of criminal charges whether or not they spend time in jail. About 66 percent of felony jury trials resulted in a guilty verdict in 2010-12, a Register Star analysis of Winnebago County Circuit Clerk records shows. That represents guilty verdicts on 89 of 135 trials.

Blair was charged with attempted murder soon after a man was shot in August 2010 less than a block from his mother's house in the 300 block of Day Avenue.

A 29-year-old father of three, Blair said he remains angry about the year he lost. He missed holidays with his family, birthday celebrations and a memorial for a cousin who died in Texas.

"I feel hurt and disappointed because I went to jail for something I didn't do," Blair said. "They had the evidence and the proof, but they constantly prolonged it and they still took me trial."

His stepfather's suspected involvement with gun crimes along Day Avenue in the weeks surrounding Blair's arrest and his stepfather's subsequent arrest and conviction in another shooting could be part of the reason why Blair got entangled in the legal net.

Had Blair been found guilty, he would have been sentenced to six to 30 years and been eligible for an additional 25 years to natural life because a firearm was used in the crime.

Blair was thankful this Thanksgiving for freedom and the chance to spend the holidays with loved ones. Although he was locked up for nearly a year on a charge his family believes never should have been filed, the system ultimately worked in his favor.

Winnebago County State's Attorney Joe Bruscato said the state works to ensure the evidence is there before bringing felony charges.

Law enforcement investigates felonies and turns cases over to prosecutors when detectives believe there is sufficient evidence to prove someone guilty. Sometimes prosecutors will ask for more before pursuing charges, Bruscato said.

If the prosecutor feels there is enough to win a conviction, the office takes it to the Winnebago County Grand Jury to verify probable cause and to obtain an indictment.

Things can happen at trial to hurt the state's case: A witness's or victim's story changes unexpectedly, or a witness is not available at trial or, as was the case in Blair's trial, is found untrustworthy by a judge or jury.

But that doesn't mean it was wrong to file charges, Bruscato said.

"We believe we had sufficient evidence to bring the case and charge the defendant," Bruscato said. "We presented our case to the judge and we respect the court's decision to find him not guilty. In that particular case, the court made the decision the evidence we had did not meet the requirement of beyond a reasonable doubt."

Five days before Christmas 2011, and on the second day of Blair's bench trial, the prosecution's case unraveled.

The state's star witness gave a confused account of what she had seen the night of Aug. 29, 2010, when a man was shot four times in the 300 block of Day Avenue and left for dead.

"One thing she said was that he was running real fast, but anybody who knows Littrail knows, one, he don't run," Shernette Blair said. "And, two, he wears flip-flops all the time. How you going to take off running full speed when you're wearing flip-flops?"

Blair's lawyer, Kunal Kulkarni, said he was able to pick the witness' story apart. Afterward, Truitt asked how much bond Blair's family could pay to secure his release, Kulkarni said.

Before the trial was complete days before Christmas, Truitt allowed Blair's mother to post $1,000 to secure Blair's release from jail.

Blair continues struggling to move on from what he considers a dark episode of his life. He splits hours with his mother at a part-time job.

"I missed a whole lot of stuff, and they took a whole lot from me," Blair said.